It's the Thought That Counts
by Bloom Flower
Summary: Raito got L a gift but L reminds Raito of the disasters of his past gifts.
1. What You Gave Me

**A/N: **I'm back again! Well, I just love being an authoress for Raito and L brotherly fluff. Yay for Raito and L brotherly/best friends fluff! My "Music of Love from the Nonforgotten" story is also up! Well, please read and review! Thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note. Sadly, I don't. cries

**It's the Thought That Counts**

**Chapter One: **_**What You Gave Me**_

The door to L's apartment room opened and slammed shut as someone entered from the outside. L heard his name being shouted out into the air as a shadow fell over the hallway to L's left. It was Raito.

"I got you something," Raito announced as he held up a bulging white bag for L to see.

L took his eyes off the T.V. and looked and Raito. "Is it cake? I'll love you if it's cake."

Raito raised his eyebrow. "No… But I got you something! Here, catch!"

Raito threw the bag at L. It hit L right in the head and fell to the floor. "I said, 'catch!'" said Raito. "Why didn't you catch it?"

"I didn't want to."

Raito looked at the detective with a bewildered look. "Um… Okay… But didn't that hurt?"

"Yes, it did."

"Then why didn't you catch it?"

"I didn't want to," replied L as he continued to look at Raito.

"Well, aren't you going to look inside and see what it is I got for you?" asked Raito with a smile.

"How do I know if it's not going to jump out and attack me?" L asked, eyeing Raito suspiciously.

"It's not alive, L. It won't attack you."

"That's not what happened last time you got me something," L replied.

"Hey! I didn't know that 'rubber duck' the guy at the store sold me was actually a living duck!" Raito protested. "Maybe that's why he said it's a really good companion at bath time…"

"That duck of yours chased me around my apartment room …" L reminded him as a flare of anger was reborn into his dark eyes. "As I was running around, you stood there, pointed and laughed at me singing, 'L's afraid of ducks'…"

"Really? I did? Cool…"

"It's in the bathroom every time I go in! It's in the bathtub, the sink, even the toilet! Most importantly, it ate ALL of my cake, Raito… After I tried to take it back, your duck bit me…" L continued.

"Ducks have teeth?"

"Well, it has a beak! It pecked me! Ducks have really hard beaks, you know!" L protested. "It really hurts. It almost made me cry, you know."

"Speaking of which… Where's the duck?!" Raito asked in panic of not knowing what L has done to his duck.

"Oh, don't worry. Ducky is in the bathtub sleeping," said L with an innocent smile as he hugged his legs on the couch. "Turns out, Ducky likes strawberries too."

"You two have a lot in common, I see. You even named it too," said Raito. "Well, aren't you going to open the bag?"

"Is it another duck? I don't want ducklings considering one duck is enough," said L. "One duck occupies the bathroom 24/7, I don't want to think about a family of ducks quacking up a storm in my bathroom…"

Raito snickered loudly at the thought of a trail of ducklings following L as the mother duck around everywhere he goes in public. "Haha…"

"What?"

"Nothing…" Raito turns away from L to avoid him seeing his redden face from laughing. "Mother duck… I wonder if I put wings and a beak on him, will he look a duck?" Raito asked himself out loud with a crazed smile and even crazier idea forming in his mind.

"Raito-kun, you have the "I'm going to take over the world" look again," L announced. "Did you skip breakfast again?"

"No, I'm fine!" Raito recovered. "Just open the bag, L! It's not a duck and it won't attack you!"

"Okay, if it won't jump out and attack me…" said L as he reached for the fallen bag on the ground. Suddenly he stopped, retracted his arm, and looked back at Raito. "Will it explode?"

"What?!" asked a startled Raito, taken back L would ask such a thing. "Explode?! Why would it do that?"

"I don't know. The second to last gift you gave me exploded in my face when I opened it…" said L as he reminisced on Raito's past gift.

"Again! I had no idea the "exploding pie" at the store was really an exploding pie!" Raito defended himself.

"It said "exploding pie" on the lid."

"I thought all that meant was that the pie was really good or something! The guy at the store said it'll go out with a boom when you open the lid to eat it! I really thought he meant that it was great-tasting!" Raito protested.

"Okay, but the third to last gift you gave me-"

"This time it won't explode or attack you!!!!" Raito screamed as he ran out of patience.

"You, sir, have a very good percent of making someone go deaf extremely fast," said L as he picked up the bag and sat it beside him.

"Was the last two gifts the reason you didn't catch this gift when I tossed it to you?" asked Raito.

"Maybe," replied L with shifty eyes.

"Just open the bag!" said Raito.

Before reaching into the bag to take out its content, L poked the bag and rushed to shield his face in case of any sudden attacks or explosions. Raito rolled his eyes and walked over to L. He grabbed the bag and pulled his hand inside.

"Raito-kun, don't! You might get hurt!"

Raito looked at L with a bland face. "You really need to lay off a little sugar, L," he said before pulling the object out.

"AHHH! Please don't hurt me!" L screamed as he raised his arms up to protect his face. "I want to live!"

"Look at it," Raito ordered as he put the object in front of L's face.

"Will it shoot laser beams at me?"

"Did you eat a whole cake before I got here? It's not going to hurt you!"

L finally lowered his arms to look at the object in Raito's hand. It was a just an ordinary looking teddy bear. It had on a long-sleeved white shirt and a faded pair of blue jeans. Raito waved in L's face. "Isn't it cute?" he asked as he gave it to L.

"Is this bear supposed to look like me? If it was, you didn't do a very good job," asked L as he used two fingers to hold up the bear for Raito to see.

"I thought it was kind of cute…" Raito replied with a slight hint of hurt audible in his voice. "If you want, you can even make it suck its thumb…"

L, with his skills of insight, immediately heard the pain in Raito's tone. "But thank you, Raito-kun. I appreciate it."

"Don't you like it?" Raito asked.

"Yes," L replied, absentmindedly. "Did you get it from that store with the guy who sold you the duck and pie?"

"Yes…" Raito replied meekly in a weak voice.

"I see… In that case…" L gently set the teddy bear on the other side of the couch and continues to stare at the television set operating in front of him. "This is so it won't hurt me. Sorry, Raito-kun. Past experiences still haunt me."

Raito, disappointed in not knowing whether L genuinely liked his gift, turned and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, L," he said as he closed the door gently behind him. All was then silent.

**To Be Continued… **

**A/N: **Well, how was it? I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review and tell me how I did! Constructive criticism is highly welcomed! I can always learn to improve on my grammar or whatever it is I made a mistake on. Thank you so much, guys! Please review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note.


	2. The Heart in the Gift

**A/N**: Here's chapter two! Well, Raito is staying with L because they're both working on some case together or a sleepover or whatever you want to think (or even Raito's house burned down and he's staying with L. :P Okay, maybe we don't want his house to burn down… ) Well, please read and review! Thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note.

**It's the Thought That Counts**

**Chapter Two: **_**The Heart in the Gift**_

A few hours later as the moon hung with its ethereal glow cast over the dark sky, Raito's key slid into the keyhole of L's apartment door. He opened the door with ease and turned to close it behind it. Suddenly, the doorknob became slippery in his sweaty palm and it eluded his grasp. The wooden door slammed itself into the doorway, echoing throughout the entire building.

"Shoot!!!" Raito emitted out of sheer frustration.

"Raito-kun," a familiar voice called him from the couch obscured beneath the shadows of darkness. Something next to the dark figure crouched up on the piece of furniture flapped it wings and opened its beak to let out a fearful quack.

"You have Ducky with you?" asked Raito in amazement as he fingered and flickered on the light switch.

"Yes, Ducky protects me from whoever comes in here… like you, Raito-kun," L explained as his fingers stroke over the white smooth head of the duck. "Isn't that right, Ducky?" he cooed as he turned to face Raito. "Raito, you don't make a very good burglar. You scream once you get inside to let the world know you're up to something no good…"

"Disturbing that you sleep with the duck… But I guess it's considered normal for you," Raito attacked back.

L pointed a finger at Raito and ordered, "Ducky! Attack him now!" The duck remained next to L, motionless. "I order you to attack the intruder!" L dictated again to his pet as L raised a foot and poked the animal.

The creature turned and began to drive its beak in L's leg. "Hey! No! Bad Ducky! That hurts!" whined L as he waved his hands toward the duck. Ducky pecked L several times in the leg before flying off into an open room. "Control your duck, Raito!" L complained.

Raito's eyes widened. "My duck?!"

"You were the one who got it for me in the first place!" L defended his position.

"You were the one sleeping with it! Besides, that duck can't protect you from a fly!"

"You have a problem with that?!" L threatened.

"You are one dysfunctional person…" Raito declared.

"Oh, and you're not? Looks who's talking. Did you ever look in the mirror, Raito-kun? You're the same as me."

Raito didn't respond to L's comment but instead walked over to the bathroom. "I'm brushing my teeth."

"Raito-kun, you might want to watch out for-" L never finished his sentence before Raito screamed.

"Ahh! Make it stop! Something's attacking me! It has a sharp beak!" Raito cried.

"It has appeared you ran into Ducky. I told you that duck occupies the bathroom 24 hours a day!" L said as he walked to the bathroom to assist his friend.

L appeared in the doorway right at the moment Ducky flew up and pecked Raito on the head. "Ducky! Bad duck! Stop attacking Raito now!" L ordered.

The duck suddenly stopped trying to impale Raito with its beak and flew towards L instead, it wings fluttering maniacally. "Oh my gosh! Killer duck on the loose!" L screamed as he ran out the bathroom.

"What about me?" asked Raito, in a timid voice. "I knew I should have taken that kung fu class! L, help me!"

"I can't even save myself!" L screamed over his shoulder as he jumped behind the couch.

Ducky stopped charging at L and retreated back into the lit bathroom. The moment Raito heard a quack emitted from the door entrance, Raito flew to the side of the wall to remove himself from its destructive path. The white flapping creature waddled past Raito and hopped back into the bathtub.

"Did you train it to be this monstrous?!" Raito gasped from loss of breath as he ran from the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

"I should have expected that duck to behave this way considering you were its owner!" L spat out.

"Call animal control or something."

"No! I'll throw _you_ in the back of that truck!"

"Well, then cook it," suggested Ratio.

"I'll cook _you_ if you lay a finger on my duck!" L threatened dangerously with malice glowing in his dark eyes.

"I'm brushing my teeth in the kitchen!" announced Raito as he gathered up his things and head for the kitchen.

"I'm going to sleep!" L shouted back. "I was sleeping so well before the world's worse burglar stopped by for a visit!"

Raito left the room muttering under his breath. "Stupid L… Cook me, huh? Cook you first!"

Raito felt something hit him on the back of the head and whirled around to find the culprit. It was an unopened chocolate bar. Raito looked at L.

"I heard that," he simply said.

With that, Raito stormed for the kitchen without another word coming out from his mouth for fear of more candy being thrown at him. After an unpleasant experience of brushing his teeth in the kitchen sink, Raito washed his face and toweled it dry. His hand fell on the fridge's handle and Raito pulled it open with an easy yank. He saw a packaged bag in the far right hand corner of the fridge and grinned to himself, considering L hides his most precious sweets in the back. Raito cleared a pathway for his hand to reach in and grab the wrapped object. He set it gently on the kitchen counter and scrutinized the appearance of the item. In bright black words scribbled over the surface of the bag read "Do not touch." Raito recognized the writing immediately as L's. Raito unraveled the plastic bag from it. His eyes widened with astonishment when the pie-shaped container fell out. It was the exploding pie he had given L a while back. '_He still have it? I thought he hated it!' _Raito thought. _'Well, he still has Ducky even though it kept attacking him… Why?'_

Raito wondered in bewilderment as he set the pie and bag back into the fridge where he had found it. He took his things and walked back into the living room of L's apartment. L sat on the couch with his arms hugging himself. As Raito walked closer, he saw that L was holding something in his arms as he slept. '_Is it his cake again?'_ Raito thought as he rolled his eyes. Raito looked at the small item surrounded by L's arms and immediately identified what it was. It was the teddy bear Raito had given him earlier that day.

He sat down next to L instead of going to his separate room adjacent to the living room. The reason why L kept all his gifts struck Raito the moment he saw the stuffed bear in L's arms. "He likes it after all. L actually likes my gifts…" Raito whispered to himself.

With that, L stirred hugged his teddy bear closer. L opened his eyes and looked at Raito, "I named it L #2. Daddy's going to take good care of you." L hugged the bear closer.

"You're not really good with naming things, are you?" Raito asked, surprised that L wasn't asleep. "You actually like my gifts…"

After placing his head on L's shoulder, he heard L whispered, "Of course, all of them. You had the thoughtfulness to get them for me and you intertwined your heart in them. I don't really care if it explodes in my face or attacks me. It's the thought that counts."

Raito snuggled next to L's left arm before hugging the blanket closer to his chest. Hearing L say that made Raito's whole day and night. Raito smiled as he felt the warmth of his best friend.

Suddenly, he heard a quack coming from the other side of L. Raito peered over and saw that it was Ducky.

"It's not going to go crazy and attack me, right?" Raito asked.

"I don't think so."

"Good."

Relaxed, Raito rested his tired head back on L's shoulder. After biding each other goodnight, the two geniuses fell asleep on the couch, under the soft blanket. Ducky slept next to L's right side as Raito leaned on his other and L #2 clutched tightly beneath his arms.

**The End **

**A/N:** Well, what do you guys think? I love Raito and L fluff!!! It's so cute and innocent!!! Best friends/brother and brother fluff! Constructive criticism is highly welcomed! Please review! Thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note. cries


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